1896 Michigan Wolverines football team
| 1896 Michigan Wolverines football | |
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| Conference | Western Conference |
| 1896 record | 9–1 (2–1 Western) |
| Head coach | William Ward (1st year) |
| Captain | Henry M. Senter |
| Home stadium | Regents Field |
| 1896 Western Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin $ | 2 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 2 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 2 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 1 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 15 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 1 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 0 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 0 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1896 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1896 Western Conference football season. They played their home games at Regents Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan and competed in the newly established Western Conference, later to be known as the Big Ten Conference. The team, with William Ward as head coach, started the season with nine consecutive wins in which the Wolverines outscored their opponents by a combined score of 256 to 4. In the final game of the season, played on Thanksgiving Day at the Chicago Coliseum, the team lost a close game to Amos Alonzo Stagg's University of Chicago team by a score of 7–6. The 1896 Michigan–Chicago game was the first college football game played indoors, and the last portion of the game was also played under electric lights. Henry M. Senter was the team captain.
Before the 1896 football season took the field, two developments occurred. First, Michigan joined the Western Inter-collegiate Athletic Conference (later renamed the Big Ten Conference). The 1896 season was the first for Michigan in conference play. Michigan's three conference games in 1896 were against Purdue, Minnesota and Chicago. Second, William McCauley, who had led Michigan to a 17–2–1 record in two seasons as coach, resigned as Michigan's football coach. Princeton graduate, William Ward, was hired to replace McCauley. Before leaving Ann Arbor in November 1896, McCauley assisted Ward in coaching the 1896 team.
Michigan conducted tryouts for the 1896 football team at Sand Beach. The Michiganensian for 1897 reported on the group appearing for try-outs as follows: "Never before had the Athletic field been so teeming with aspirants for foot-ball honors."
Michigan opened its 1896 season with a home game against Michigan State Normal, later known as Eastern Michigan University. The Wolverines won, 18–0, scoring two touchdowns in the first half and a goal and a safety in the second half. The World of New York reported on the game as follows: "The University of Michigan opened its football season here this afternoon by a loosely played game with the Michigan State Normal eleven. Only four members of last year's 'Varsity eleven were in the game, although four of them were on the ground ready to play."
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